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Ivory told Cordelia what was going on in hushed tones once the two of them were alone in the restroom. When that was put aside, the two of them began strategizing for a new plan.
"Okay," Ivory said, wringing her hands together nervously. "We just have to get as many people as we can to leave. The vampires won't have as much leverage the fewer people there are."
"And how do we manage that?" Cordelia asked. "No one's gonna want to leave. They're having too much fun."
Ivory thought a moment, then checked to make sure no one was about to enter. Once she was assurred no one was, she brushed her hair back from her neck. "For starters, we call my dad and give him a ten-minute headstart. Let's say, when he gets here, there's an unauthorized attack by a vampire on a customer. It will scare everyone around and with any luck, most of them will make it out with Dad's help... However, since I'm not looking to get all my blood drained..." Ivory looked up at Cordelia. "We add the puncture marks now and you just latch onto the same spot when you pretend to attack me later."
Cordelia flinched, her eyes darting to the Slayer's neck briefly. "Ivory, I..." she started.
"Cordy, just do it! We don't have much time," Ivory said impatiently.
Sighing, Cordelia had Ivory turn around, then morphed into her vamp face. Baring her fangs, she bit into the Slayer's throat, in a spot where the wound could be easily hidden.
Despite her friend's attempt to make it as painless as possible, Ivory still flinched, a tear escaping her eye as she bit back a moan. But it was over instantly, and the Slayer immediately straightened, moving her hair back into place. "Well, phase one is over," she said calmly. "Now you'd better get out there. I'll be along in a few moments."
Cordelia moved to leave, then turned back to give Ivory's hand a squeeze. "You're quite a remarkable, not to mention brave and resourceful, girl," she whispered. "You should pull this off, no problem... Good luck. I'll see you out there." Then, just like that, Cordelia walked out, moving to a payphone right away to call Angel.
Ivory took a few extra seconds to compose herself, then returned to the main area of the rink. However, rather than head out onto the floor, she went for the cafeteria first, intent on getting Risa out of harm's way first.
She spotted her foster sister right away, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Risa was alone. Sitting across from her friend, making sure the wound was completely hidden underneath her hair, Ivory said, "Hey! Saw you talking to some guy a minute ago. Where'd he go?"
Risa looked up, taking a bite of her hot dog first. "Oh, left with some other girl," she replied. "Would you believe that guy is actually the one who owns and operates this place? It's just too bad he has a date for tonight, or I would have snatched him up myself."
"Left when? Where?" Ivory said, searching around for Nick.
"The girl had invited him to a private party that a friend of hers is holding," Risa replied, failing to notice the urgency in Ivory's tone. "They walked out about two minutes ago... Why?"
Ivory shook her head, silently cursing the fact that Nick wouldn't be here when it all went down; she had relished the thought of doing him in tonight. "It's not important," she told Risa. "So, how are you doing? Having a good time?"
"So-so," Risa admitted. "How about you? Kenyon didn't make too much of a nuisance of himself earlier, did he?"
Ivory shook her head again. "No, actually he was being nice for once. Very not Kenyon."
Risa was surprised. "Really?! I didn't know Mr. Copping-A-Feel had it in him to be nice!" She paused. "You don't think he's trying a different method, do you?"
Ivory sighed, rubbing the back of her neck with one hand while gazing around the rink. "I don't know. It's hard to tell. But whatever the reason..."
Risa cut her off, her hand moving to brush Ivory's hair away from the partially revealed teeth marks. "Oh, my God," she blurted out. "Do you know you're bleeding?"
Ivory backed away before Risa could uncover them. "It's nothing!" she said hastily. "Really, I'm fine." She hesitated a split second, then said, "You know what? I'm going to head out for another round of skating. I'll catch up with you later." Then, Ivory was away before Risa could question her further.
Ivory hid out near the DJ's station until she caught sight of her Dad concealed in the shadows by the entrance, obviously waiting for her to make the first move. With a deep breath, she got out onto the rink, blending into the crowd. She skated along slowly, waiting for her senses to alert her to the fact that Cordelia was closing in.
Except things went painfully sour and fast. Ivory's first clue that things were about to get complicated was when Jesse caught up to her as she skated slowly along the fringes, questioning if she was okay and wanting to see her throat for the extent of the damage. Apparently, Risa had already gotten to him.
Ivory half fought off his advances, letting out a low groan. "Jesse, leave it alone!" she said, loud enough so he could hear her. "I am perfectly fine! The last thing I need is someone babying me!"
The words were barely out of her mouth when Ivory caught a flicker of movement behind them out of the corner of her eye. Faster than she could imagine, Jesse was being tossed backwards towards the center of the rink, falling to the floor and nearly being run over by a nearby patron.
Ivory barely caught a glimpse of the offending vampire (not Cordelia) before he lunged for her, fangs bared. Moving quickly, she placed both hands on the wall behind her, kicking up and out with her feet to divert him. *Lucky me,* she thought. *I get within distance of the hungry one. And since I have an open wound, he naturally comes for me...*
Fortunately, the fight that was taking place did have the desired effect on getting everyone to leave, especially when the vamp got impaled on a wooden stake courtesy of Cordelia and exploded into dust.
As bedlam ensued around them, with a horde of teenagers charging the exit, Ivory pushed away from the wall and said angrily, "Where were you?!"
Cordelia gave a slight scowl, gesturing to her skates. "You try these out for the first time ever, see how well you do!"
*Oops...* Ivory mused, turning her gaze from her friend and scanning the situation around them. A second later, she went to Jesse's aid, throwing a punch at another vamp that was hovering over him. Ivory then hauled her friend to his feet, placing a cross firmly in his hand. "Get out of here," she told him swiftly. "If anyone attacks you, that's what the crucifix is for."
She was away before Jesse could protest, nailing the vampire nearest them and searching for the next one. She was surprised to see that only eight out of the original twelve remained, all of them vamped out and looking furious at the turn of events.
A quick turn once more around the rink allowed Ivory to cut the number of opponents in half, and she saw her father eliminate one more that tried to escape through the main doors. By now, the rink was nearly empty, and it appeared as if her first battle might be a success after all. Ivory tore off her skates to allow herself better manuevers, then looked for her remaining adversaries and froze. There were now only two bloodsuckers remaining here, and they had both Risa and Kenyon...